Dealer couldn't help with some questions... can you?

[Demonseed]

Hey Guys,

I found this great forum while looking for specifics about the Nissan NV 3500 as my local dealer could not answer all my questions.  I am hoping that you guys can help.  We live in Ontario, Canada, 15 mins south of Hamilton, ON.  I have looked for dealers of these and according to an old post there was only 7 in the entire province!!  I went to check out the vehicle and test drove the v8 version at our nearest dealer and I must say it was much better than the Ford Transit Passenger we tried.  Here are a bunch of questions I had that the dealer did not know.... I am hoping you can help me out!

 

1. Gas Mileage!! From what I read the V8 gets about 14-16 mpg.  I read one posting saying the V6 did about the same?  Can someone confirm the gas mileage???  We have 2 adults and 4 kids..... We will tow but it will be below 7000lbs so I know either vehicle can tow.

 

2. Tank size for gas?

 

3. Seats... will they fold down or no? I believe no... just wanted to confirm this..

 

4. Dealers-is there an updated list of dealers? I wouldn't mind shopping around for better price.

 

5. Price the one we looked at was loaded one V8 and I think it was 48CDN new... I have seen some go in USA for 32K... any tips on how/where to look?

 

6. Used-I searched the entire province.. hardly ever see them used what gives?

 

7. Seat slot covers? There are holes in floor on removing seats, is there caps for the holes?

 

8.  Insurance-anyone advise on costs in ON? I plan on calling tomorrow for this....

 

9. Towing-how much does Gas mileage change on towing?? say 5000 lbs...

 

10. Service and Parts! This is a big issue... These are commercial here, and there is little dealers.  Does that mean parts and service will be exclusive to dealer? Doesn't that mean I will get completely killed on service costs?  In regards to basic stuff i.e.) oil changes, will these fit in a normal garage?

 

11.  Alarm-What security features do they have???

 

12.  Climate controls-I never tried the AC etc.. how well do they cool off from front to back? Our current van is awful at cooling /heating properly....

 

13.  Snow/Rain- How are they in snowy climates like Canada?

 

14.  Tires- what size of tires? Cost?

 

15.  Navigation/Gps System- Does it require a subscription? How does it work if there is no description?  Cost for this?

 

16.  Cost of V6 vs V8???? What model do you prefer, we were leaning to V6 however I have read they are not very much better on gas.

 

17. Current owners-overall feedback..pros vs cons of these...

 

Thanks Very Much, Appreciate any feedback!!

 

Jim

[beasleymachine]

Hello up there in the Great White North!

 

1. Gas Mileage - We've had our 2017 V8 NVP for about 3 months now.  Average of 20 fill ups is 14.7 mpg.  The best was 19.5 on a road trip with pure highway miles!  But yeah it's not great -- but the V6 isn't much better, so I've heard.  I'll say this:  the feeling of driving the V8 is excellent....never did I think I would be driving a 3 ton behemoth full of people and actually feel "fast."  The V8 has punch.  Whatever little bit extra we pay in gas is worth it, to me.

 

2.  28 gallons.  The "range" has shown anywhere between 375-450 miles right after fill-up, depending on how the driving was during the tank previous.

 

3.  Nope!  You have to take them out.  The single seats are easy, the double seats are a bit heavy.

 

5.  Got mine for about 41k USD...it's the SL model though.  And I suck at negotiating.

 

6.  No used ones here either.  Not a high volume seller, and the people that buy them tend to keep them.  (which is a good testimonial).

 

7.  There are some seat slot covers that come with the van, but not enough!  I need to buy some more -- apparently the dealer can sell them.

 

12.  Climate Control -- we have to have the AC cranked full blast when it's been 90 degrees F or more.  It does get cool enough, but you have to crank it.  Makes sense when you think about it....it's the size of a small RV inside.

 

13.  Been great in rain so far...unknown about snow.  I've heard some don't like the standard Firestone Transforce tires in snow.  I'm planning on seeing how they do this winter -- I might be buying some new tires if they don't do well.

 

14.  245/70/17 (I think).  I've seen them around here starting for about 200 a tire or a little less.  Standard for HD truck tires.

 

15.  No subscription for the navigation, but I have seen some complain about the maps when they become out of date.  I will say, we really like our radio and navigation system.  We've never had a vehicle with a touch screen system before, so it's all great to us.  I think they have improved the latest system over the older ones.

 

16.  Get the V8.

 

17.  Love the van -- great for our family.  We have 5 kids.  It's a conversation starter just about everywhere you go:  What is that thing?  How many seats are in it?  And when you drive it, you feel like the king of the road.  It's just a solid feeling vehicle.  I've had a couple of "initial quality" issues that I've had to go back to the dealer for:  The sliding door, and an oxygen sensor.  But I don't care, I love this van.  You won't regret it.

 

Matt

[Demonseed]

Hey Matt

Thanks very much!!  That answered almost everything..... I appreciate it.

Does anyone know the mileage of the V6 ?

[likeskites]

 

 

1. Gas Mileage isn't why this vehicle is sold, so what you're hearing for numbers is correct.

 

2.

 

3. Seats don't fold down.

 

4.

 

5. I am in Alberta. I looked everywhere as well. The dealers seem to have very little room to move because few are being sold.

 

6. Very few used because very few are sold.

 

7. There are caps for the whole in the floor. But only a few. If you take out a lot of seats, there will not be enough caps provided unless you purchase more.

 

8.  Insurance in ab is very reasonable. No surprises.

 

9.

 

10. No probes with getting parts from the dealer you purchased from.

 

11.  No alarm came stock on my full load NVP 3500 V8

 

12.  Climate controls work adequately for front and rear. No probs.

 

13.  I live in northern alberta. Down the highway in snow is no prob. But I run studded tires too. Going down back roads in the snow, I take into account the weight of this vehicle and what it would take to pull me out, and thus drive accordingly.

 

14.  

 

15.  The nav system sucks. Think about how often your phone nav gets updated. Or you get a new phone with better nav apps, thus rendering your vehicles nav obselete. This will happen.

 

16.  But the v8 and it will purr down the road. Engine will last longer too because it isn't being overworked for its life.

 

17. Great vehicle. I would buy it again for what it is. I have had problems with an emission control valve that's right at the gas cap point. Keeps telling me the lid isn't on tight enough and then puts on an engine light. I took it in once and they changed the part. But it came back on again. Haven't gone back because it's such an ordeal for me to make it back to the dealer. Other than that, rock solid. I bought an engine scanner and can clear and check that code. Peace of mind in knowing the engine light isn't on for something else. And eventually I'll throw away a day and go get that fixed again.

 

[radin2son]

Check out monthly and year to date NV sales vs other commercial vans in US and Canada at www.goodcarbadcar.net and you will see why they are hard to find.

 

Any Nissan dealer can order parts and any NV commercial dealer can work on your van. Also check out auto parts stores for wiper blades, touch up paint etc.

 

I like the Michelin Defender MS tires better than Transforce (replaced at 60,000+ miles).

 

There is a NVP forum on Facebook that has been mentioned. I long ago deactivated Facebook, along with twitter, so there may be some other info there. Why the need for 2 NV forum platforms, I don't know.

 

To get to van sales stats it is easier to google van sales June 2017 and click on commercial van sales at goodcarbadcar... Canada stats are separate. Perhaps the non-mobile site is easier to use...

 

2016 NV sales in US totaled 17,873. 2017 ytd 9,447

 

CA totaled 515 in 2016 and 328 ytd in 2017. How can a CA dealer survive with so few units available? Haven't heard from Bates in awhile.

Edited July 17, 2017 by radin2son

[Demonseed]

Hello,

I noticed that you see very few on the road here in Canada.  We are ultimately debating between the Transit and the Nissan.  While the Nissan seems sturdier and solid, my fear is that the nearest dealer is 40 mins away from my home.  The ford dealer is right here and any ford dealer will work on the transit.  The transit has some features I do like vs the Nissan.  I am really torn... need to find some reviews comparing the two but there just are not many of them. We are not urgently shopping however our current van is slowly dying.

 

Jim

[radin2son]

Ultimately, you will have to decide which is better for intended use.

 

You are right about how easy it is to find Ford dealerships vs Nissan Commercial dealerships.

 

I have yet to find a comparison review of current vans. Truck Trend did long term reviews of the NV 2500 and Sprinter cargo vans. They may have done one on the Transit. You may want to check Edmunds as well.

 

Better yet, you may want to pm the new NVP owner, who went from a 2015 Transit to a 2017 NVP.

[Demonseed]

Hey

I have been posting also on a ford transit site... they are pro ford of course, however I still am so undecided what to get!!... the warranty the build of Nissan was solid.. however ford is more readily available, local and had some better features.... any thoughts?

 

FORD

PRO-local dealers sell, local dealers fix!! similar price, smaller head rests so better view to rear, larger windows, isle among seats to maneuver inside, slightly better fuel economy, more storage

CONS-Far less warranty, rear seats PITA to remove, I have heard AC is not adequate, recent safety recalls, poor tranny, not as good at towing, louder, uglier, smaller tires, less leg room

NISSAN
PRO-better warranty, built like a tank!, better for towing, larger engine, better tranny, large seats, easy to remove all seats, more cup holders

CONS-not local dealer (40 mins away), commercial only to fix, expect higher repair costs due to limited sales/dealers, poor rear visibility, faulty check engine issues, larger headrests, possibly less gas mileage......

[radin2son]

Until you decide how you plan to use a large van, you are wasting time ruminating.

 

Buy the Ford. If you don't like it, move on to the next large van available.

 

Buy the NV.

[Neil in ny]

I had a regular height Chevy Express 3500 when I became interested in traveling around the USA in a van. The 2010 Chevy had approximately 125,000 miles, was in good working order and was completely paid off.

 

Once I began creating a spending plan to convert the Express van for leisure travel, I concluded that a high roof van with a good warranty would be the better choice for me.

 

Some of my reasoning is as follows. I have found it can be easier to budget for a car payment than it can be dealing with the cost of expensive and sometimes unexpected repairs. Loan payment amounts are something over which I do enjoy some control. I am also mindful that it is not the job of the people at the dealership to make sure that I don't spend too much on repairs and maintenance. Furthermore, I often feel that I am at a real dissadvantage negotiating with the people who work in the service department. Routine payments on a car loan at my bank feel more easily managed.

 

There was an incentive of over $2400 offered by Nissan at the time that I purchased a year-end leftover on the dealership's lot. The purchase price that I paid in the end was $31,000. This included all but the Sales Tax.

 

The conversion of my NV 3500 SV high roof is underway. I've driven the new van just over 10,000 miles now and there has been no disappointment. The V8 engine does right for me and the build of the van overall has proven very solid so far. I really like the feel of driving the NV and the braking in the Nissan seems far better than that of the Chevy. By chance, the NV has windows in the passenger side sliding door and in both rear doors. The visibilty made possible by the window in the sliding door makes changing lanes much easier than lane changes without the window. The rear view mirrors on the NV are the best that I have ever had.

 

Fourteen point five miles per gallon is consistently what I find for fuel economy with the Nissan. I had been getting about 15.5 mpg with 6.0 Liter Chevy engine in the Express.

 

The Nissan cargo van does not include some of the bells and whistles found in some other cargo vans, but I am very pleased with the the quality of those features that have been included. One example of a feature that I do miss is automatic headlights. I have purchased an after market automatic headlight controller and I believe I understand how the controller is to be installed. I am also installing a wireless rear view camera as the SV trim level did not include the technology package.

 

I hope that some of the information shared here proves helpful to someone.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Neil in ny

[ASD Dad]

Welcome to the site Neil!  Be sure to post some photos of your conversion, we have a growing community of camper conversions on the site.  Nice summary of why you chose the NV.  We still love ours with 50K miles on it and many road trips.

[TinyStudio]

I'm getting about 12.7 miles to the gallon in my night 2017 3500 V8 SL we got 5 kids and we have a 6000 pound 35 foot travel trailer replace starter 2009 Ford Expedition and I'm very happy so far unfortunately the seats don't fold down I really wish they did that would make it more user-friendly when I have to go to the hardware store love how it toes great vehicle happy I made the decision and like some of the other posts say it is a conversation starter.

Good luck with your search and comparing the transit to the Nissan, we did that because it can tow up to 8700 pounds